Destroyers of Atlantis
by Mystic Blue Rose
Summary: Hitomi opened her eyes. Van was right in front of her. So Close. Hitomi stared into his dark amber eyes as they seemed to burn into her soul. She felt the slight breeze across her face, the same breeze that caused a few of Van’s feathers to waft in her
1. Default Chapter

My first Escaflowne fic! 

**I Don't own Escaflowne, prabably won't own it anytime soon either   
**Pairing:**Van+Hitomi This turned out fluffy! It wasn't my intent but it did!**

Destroyers of Atlantis  
Part 1  


By Stargurl117

  
  
Van promised himself he'd return Hitomi to the Mystic Moon, and he would, some how some way. He would return her to the people she loved so much. And keep her away from Allen, the knight. It wasn't that Allen was a bad person, Van secretly admired him. But if Allen asked Hitomi to stay in Gaea..... If she stayed in Gaea for Allen&...It would break Van's heart....   
  
_Don't get so attached_, Van told himself, _because when she goes...it'll be forever_. She needs to be with her own people...People that ware strange clothes..did strange things..Could finish a glass of Vino in one gulp.... Were all people from the Mystic Moon as amazing as she was?  
  
Van looked at Hitomi and Merle, asleep at the base of a tree, a mass of human girl and cat-girl. It had taken them forever, but they almost got along now. What would Merle do when Van found a way to return Hitomi home? Hitomi was the only friend Merle had besides Van, because few people got to know cat-girls very well. Would Merle be glad to see Hitomi go? Would she be glad to have things back the way they were? No, things would never be the way they were. Fanelia had been burned to the ground. It was Van's responsibility as Fanelia's king to rebuild it. How would he mange that? He wasn't even sixteen yet.  
  
Van tried to clear his mind as he returned to his sword practice. Focus he told himself. He had to become stronger. He had to protect Hitomi and Merle if the challenge ever arose.  
  
The silver sword sliced through the night air making a whistling noise as it did so. With one fluid motion Van cut through the tall yellow grass that surrounded him. He paused and looked back at Escaflowne sitting at the base of a mass of tall trees. _If we're connected by my blood....Why am I not as strong as you?_ He mused to the towering Guymelef. Its shollow eyes and human like shape offered no reply.  
  
Hitomi awoke with Merle flopped out practically on top of her,_ she treats me like a teddy bear_ she thought. If something like this would have happened a month ago, she would have screamed. But she smiled down at the sleeping Merle, gently patting the light red-pink hair on top of her orange head. She heard the sound of a sword slice though something. She knew the sound well since slicing through objects was one of Van's strong suits.  
  
She looked up and saw Van standing not very far away in a small patch of tall yellow grass, which he had obviously used his sward on a couple of times. She watched the silhouette of the boy practicing his sward techniques against the purple night sky. Van and his sword seemed to become one as Hitomi watched him. She became entranced by the rhythm of his movement, the purple sky filled with stars behind him and the glow they set upon his figure.  
  
She looked past him to the moons hanging in the sky. The first was the same as Earth's moon. The second WAS Earth, except here it was referred to as the 'Mystic Moon.' Earth... How she missed it... Amano...Yukari... were they all right? She wondered.  
  
Slice. She returned her attention to Van and his repetition of movements again. Turn, charge, slice, turn. He was certainly getting better. He looked so graceful and handsome as she watched him. Too bad his personality wasn't more charming. All though... He did have his sweet moments...but he would never be as kind or sweet as Allen or Amano._He's just not capable of it,_ Hitomi's mind spat bitterly.  
  
Van paused and glanced around. He didn't see Hitomi watching him. After deciding the coast was clear, he took his shirt off.  
  
_Oh geez I shouldn't be watching this!_ Hitomi screamed at herself._ Shut your eyes!_ She commanded herself. But she couldn&rsquot move, she was too enthralled. _Hitomi shut your eyes damn it!_ _Oh God I am such a perv!_ She told herself.  
  
Van stretched his arms out in front of him and allowed his wings to stretch from his shoulder blades. It felt so good to stretch them. Lately he'd had this need to stretch them, this desire to touch the sky like never before. The feeling grew stronger every day, it engraved its self in the back of his mind and never left. It haunted him. He'd always thought he was human, with the exception of the Draconian angel-like wings he'd inherited from his mother. Obviously that was not the case, he was half-human, half-Draconian, not just a human with Draconian wings. There was no sense in denying it, the Draconian race coursed through his veins, along with their demon heritage and their cursed history.  
  
He flapped his wings, and prepared to fly. If he could only fly.. just for a moment... Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something glitter. He turned his head to see a very wide-eyed Hitomi staring at him, her olive green eyes littered with embarrassment.  
  
"Hitomi, did I wake you or something?"  
  
"Um... I just sort of woke up and saw you practicing and then..." Hitomi knew she should choose her words carefully because Van didn't like to discuss his wings. sorry...I didn't mean to snoop..." she stammered to a finish.  
  
"Van-sama!" Merle shrieked as she jumped up to hug him, wrapping her arms around his waist protectively. "Van-sama you can't show your wings!" Merle sobbed "It's bad! Someone might see you ~~!" she buried her face in his chest.  
  
"It's OK Merle...I was being careful," he sighed softly and ran his hand through her soft hair.  
  
"Van-sama! If anything ever happened to you..! Please Van-sama you're all I have left! Be careful!"  
  
He looked down at the sobbing cat-girl clinging to him and touched her soft black ears. "Merle I'll be careful....I promise..." he pushed her away, forced his wings into his back, picked his shirt up off the ground and walked away. "I"ll be back in a little while," he said over his shoulder.  
  
The sobbing Merle covered her face as she walked him walk away and collapsed in a puddle of her own salty tears.  
  
Hitomi rushed to Merle's side. She rubbed her back. "Merle I know you don't like me..but if you need me....I'll be there for you," She whispered near her ear.  
  
Merle looked up through her teary blue eyes at Hitomi, and broke into hysterics. "Liar! No You won't Not for long anyway CauseVan he said he promised to send you home! You won't be here much longer you know cause Van always keeps his promises! He prabably found a way to send you home so now he's sad and doing stupid things!!"  
  
"Van promised....to do that for me?...." Hitomi stammered.Maybe he did care after all.  
  
Merle looked at the grass below her watching her tears drape to the ground. "I'm sorry....Hitomi...thank you....Go talk to him...  
  
"Merle I can't leave you like this..." Hitomi reasoned.  
  
"Van is more important right now...."  
  
Hitomi watched Merle's tears touch the ground. "Merle I..."  
  
"Go!! Before he does something stupid!" Merle commanded, and Hitomi took off running after Van.  
  
******  
  
Hitomi looked everywhere, she couldn't find Van. She took her pendant out from under her shirt, and let it dangle from her fingers. She pictured Van, His young face with those kind brown eyes, and the way the moonlight would reflect off his messy, short, black hair. Oh God, she had a crush on Van....Shocked Hitomi dropped her pendant letting it hang from the gold chain around her neck.  
  
"Hitomi?"  
  
_That was Van's voice_ Hitomi thought. She turned around she didn't see anyone. Something told her to look up so she did.  
  
Above her was a cliff, sitting on it was none other than Van, his legs dangling over the edge. His wings were out. They etched themselves across the night sky glowing a brilliant white.  
  
Van stood up and dove off the cliff. Hitomi screamed and covered her eyes. _Idiot_, she scolded herself. _He can't die like that, he can fly._  
  
Hitomi opened her eyes. Van was right in front of her. So Close. Hitomi stared into his dark amber eyes as they seemed to burn into her soul. She felt the slight breeze across her face, the same breeze that caused a few of Van's feathers to waft in her direction.  
  
Van smiled, "C'mon I want to show you something Hitomi." He extended his hand to her.  
****  
Good Lord! I fixed the typos (hopefully) **I think my pc makes the words run together when I save in HTML**, but I'm surpised I got so many good reveiws cause there were a lot of typos in there!I'll try and do a better job of fixing things like that before I post...Thank you all who reveiwed the eariler version (with all the typos!)  
  
I think this is a personal best for me.....  
How do think I did? **Please reveiw...You'd prabably make my day!!! *^_~*  
**  
  



	2. Part 2

Destroyers of Atlantis  
Part 2

By Stargurl117

Hitomi had forgotten when Van took her hand and they flew to the edge of the cliff above them. That's how beautiful the sight was. No wonder Van wanted to show this to her, it was so amazing. It made you forget everything. She forgot she flew to get up here, that Van was king of a destroyed country, that Merle the cat girl was waiting for them to return, that tomorrow they would continue running from Zaibach and that oh yeah,the fact that she may never see home again.

She looked at the scene in front of her. The small bushy green trees below her that touched the royal purple sky filled with bright strange stars. Off beyond the trees was a small town. Hitomi could see the little flames from the lanterns outside the houses as they danced in thewind.

Then it hit her like a thousand bricks. She wasn't anywhere near home, involved in some horrible war. She stared blankly atthe little houses and wished with all her heart that she was home. She even wished her mom could tuck her in bed like when she was a little girl.

"Hitomi?…" Van asked softly.

Hitomi whipped her head in his direction. "What?" She snapped, huge wet tears running down her face.

Van was a little startled by Hitomi's suddenly harsh tone, but he recovered quickly. "Are you all right? You're crying…"

Hitomi hadn't even noticed she was crying until that moment. Then a soft wind blew across her face, making her wet face stingfromthe cold. She wiped her face on her sleeve. "I'm sorry….Ijustmiss home…being here reminds me of it….this place justfeelssort of homey, ya know?"

"Yeah…I know what you mean…"

Hitomi blushed, "Van I'm sorry if this is none of my business, but do you ever miss your parents?…You never talk about them…."

Just then, an ear-splitting cry echoed through the quiet night. "Merle!" Van exclaimed. 

"Are you sure that was her?" A worried Hitomi asked getting up from her seat on a large rock.

"Yes," Van said quickly. He scooped Hitomi up and doveoff the cliff. 

Hitomi gripped Van for dear life as the wind ran through her hair and the ground came closer and closer to her. "VAN!!!!!" She screeched. 

****

Merle found herself being thrown down on a cold hard floor in a dimly light room. "Ouch!" she whined. She looked up at the Dragonslayers that had thrown her on the floor. They looked nervous, very nervous. 

She heard the shuffle of dragging feet coming closer and she couldn't help but wonder what made the Dragonslayers so nervous.

Shuffle. Shuffle. Shuffle. The footsteps came closer and then there was a horrible hacking cough.

"How are you feeling Dilandau-sama?" Shesta cautiously ventured.

"What the Hell are you doing here?" Dilandau groaned, feeling to horrible to slap some sense into anyone.

The other Dragonslayer gulped, expecting a harsh blow to the face anysecond."We have captured the Guymelef Escaflowne, however there was no signof theking of Fanelia, but we think with Escaflowne and her, " he indicatedMerle on the floor, "We can bring him here."  
  


Dilandau's clouded wine-red eyes brightened a little for the first time in days. It made the Dragonslayers glad to see he wasimproving, he was just plain weird when he was sick.

Dilandau began to rub his finger up and down the scar on his cheek, a blood thirsty look returned to his eyes. "Van….Come here…?" He mused, letting out a disturbing chuckle, "I like that idea, Good work," he finished. He turned to leave, but stopped for a moment. "By the way…." He added gracefully walking back toward the two Dragonslayers. He swiftly stuck each of them across the face. "You acted without my orders," he stated flatly.

Miguel began to pick himself of the floor as he watchedDilandau almost skip for joy out of the room. He turned to Shesta, "Well…it IS good to see him feeling better," he muttered. 

****

Merle was thrown into the dungeon in the bottom of thefloating fortress. She was cold, hungry, dirty, scared, and still worriedabout Van.She had rarely seen him like he was tonight: cold and cut off.He rarely was like that around her. 

She sat in the darkest corner she could find, away fromthe dim light that came through the door with the iron-bared window. She pulled her knees up to her chest and tried to fight back her tears. "Van-sama…"She choked.

****

In an attempt to pull up drastically, and avoid crashing to the ground, Van weaved through the trees. Unfortunately he still wasn't used to using his wings and they ultimately crashed into a tree falling to the ground 

"Uh sorry…"Van stammered as he picked himself off Hitomi.

Hitomi brushed herself off. "Van…"she said patiently, "don't EVER do that again…"

"You're right I should have let you take the pathdown.."hesaid quickly putting his usual red shirt on and taking off in thedirectionof their camp.

Hitomi took a quick glance at what she assumed was the 'path.' She wondered whether she was more likely to die from sheer exhaustion onthe damn path or from another of Van's less-than-graceful landings."Hey Van wait!" She yelled as she noticed how far a head of her Van was.Van was gracious enough to slow down. 

Hitomi remembered when Merle was screaming at her to goafter Van earlier this evening. She'd only just realized it, but Merletold her to go after 'Van,' not 'Van-sama.' Merlemusthave been so worried about Van that she forgot the whole 'sama'bit. _They must care for each other a lot_, Hitomi thought as she observed the worried look in Van's big, brown eyes. 

"You know…You COULD thank me for carrying you upanddown that cliff…" Van stated over his shoulder. 

__

_ Oooooh! He's so damn arrogant sometimes! I can't see why the Hell Merle would care about him so much…_ Hitomi's mind screamed. "And you COULD thank me for breaking your damn fall." Hitomi mimicked.

Hitomi saw Van blush out of the corner of her eye, but Van said nothing. They reached the camp and it was obvious there was some kind of fight. Droplets of blood were scattered about the grass, and in the distance were the tracks of Zaibach Guymelefs. 

"Merle?!? …Merle?!?" Van cried, but the only reply he got was the echo of his own voice. He gave a growl of frustration as he thrust his fist into the nearest tree, then flopped to the dirt surrounding it. 

" Hey…Van…" Hitomi approached him cautiously, "don't worry we'll find her…" she said reassuringly as she put her hand on his shoulder. "Remember, I've still got this.." she added taking out her pendant.

Van looked up at Hitomi and smiled as he put his hand on hers. "Thank you…." he said softly.

****

Yeah I know it's kinda short, but I am working on part 3 and that should be up soon~!!!  
I hope I wrote Dilandau all right, it's my first attempt so be nice. 

**Please reveiw! I need to know how I'm doing here! And It makes me so happy! (yeah I know that's corny...but it's true..) **


	3. Part 3

Destroyers of Atlantis  
Part 3  
By Stargurl117

Merle froze as she heard footsteps coming closer to her cell.She watched the light on the floor grow larger as the door opened. The dark figure of a Zaibach soldier appeared in the doorway, the light reflected off his silver armor. He threw what looked like an old misshapen pie pan, full of mushy food on the floor and began to leave. 

"Leave us," a masculine voice with a cold edge told the soldier.

The solder turned to face the source of the voice, he stiffened "Yes sir," he saluted. 

The solder left from the doorway and was replaced with a tall, dark, figure. Merle couldn't see his face, but she knew who it was. It was someone she hadn't seen since she was three. "Folken-sama…" she breathed.

****

Hitomi took out her pendant, gripped the golden chain lightly and let the pink teardrop stone swing slightly in the faint night breeze. _Merle. Think of Merle Hitomi,_ She told herself. She tried to paint a picture of Merle in her mind. That curly orange-pink hair that almost came to her shoulder, the orange skin that was covered with black stripes, her bright blue eyes, all the things that made up Merle.

Van walked away from Hitomi, giving her room to concentrate. He looked at the ground as he walked. His foot came across something. _ Merle's nail file! _Van thought. "Hitomi," he called tossing the pink nail file to Hitomi. He walked up to Hitomi and set his hand on Hitomi'shand that now held the nail file and pendant. 

The pendant started to glow and swung to the west. "That's it…" Hitomi said opening her eyes. "We head that way."

****

Merle couldn't help herself. She instantly ran to Folken and clung to him. That's how glad she was to see a familiar face."Folken-sama!"she exclaimed. She paused as she remembered that Van no longer liked his brother.She eyed him cautiously and stepped back.

Folken almost smiled. "Follow me Merle." He commanded turning around. He began to walk away, letting his black cape trail behind him. 

Merle thought for a moment, would she rather follow Folken, someone she knew who Van said was a traitor, or sit here alone in the dark, cold and hungry? Merle ran to catch up to Folken, accidentally stepping on his long black cape as she did so. 

Merle jumped off the cape and quickly observed her surroundings. Looking from left to right she saw candle holders along the wall. Their dim glow gave the walls a yellow hue. She quickened her pace so she could walk along side Folken. That's when she saw his right arm. It looked like this skin was ripped off his arm and left just the bone. Merle gawked, stopping right where she was and bit her lip before she could say anything. 

Folken stopped and looked over his shoulder to see what was keeping Merle. When he noticed she was staring at his arm he simply said, "The dragon took that arm" and kept walking. 

Merle followed Folken up a dimly light narrow staircase, a dark hallway and through a grand carved arched doorway. Past the doorway, was a huge room. Out from the wall there as a huge canopy bed on each side was a wood night stand and chair on the side of the night stand. All the furniture was made of what looked like dark cherry wood. Was it Merle's imagination or was the entire room made of shades of black and gray?

Then Merle noticed a covered silver platter on one of the night stands, similar to the ones she saw in Palas that covered delicious food. In fact Merle smelled something wonderful. Folken uncovered the platter to reveal what looked like wonderful perfectly cooked food. Mashed potatoes overflowing with brown gravy chicken, oh the chicken, Merle would have even eaten the steamed green vegetables. 

Merle ran to the night stand and smelled the wonderful food, _it doesn't smell poisoned or anything_, Merle thought. _And even if it is I'll die happy! No! Focus you don't need food!_ She told herself. She turned to Folken, "do you think I'm stupid!?!" She asked Folken.

"I thought you might prefer this as opposed to what you were given," he said flatly as he turned to leave.

"Wait!" Merle said desperately. "Don't leave!" 

Folken looked over his shoulder and slightly cocked an eyebrow.

"Why did you get me out of there?" She asked staring him in the eye.

"This is a floating fortress, it doesn't matter where you're kept, you couldn't leave, even if you wanted to."

Merle stared at him. _ Is that really Folken-sama?_ She thought. _He looks so different, and he doesn't smile anymore_ …. She looked at his eyes again. There was something so familiar behind them…

"I was responsible for burning Fanelia Merle. You shouldn't be so trusting." Folken scolded.

Fanelia. Her beautiful country. That's where Balgus took her in off the streets, fed her, clothed her, loved her. She couldn't remember anything before Fanelia, except that it was bad. She didn't want to remember anything else. She met Van in Fanelia, and Folken, but Van was her friend. She remembered how Van looked up to Folken, and how happy he was before he left. Someone Van admired so much could never be bad.

"LIAR!" She yelled, the tears in her eyes clouding her vision.

Folken scoffed and left. Leaving her alone in the dark room.

****

__

They walked through the lush green forest. Van didn't suggest flying so neither did Hitomi. Even though Hitomi was tired and her feet ached. Van also didn't mention the missing Escaflowne either. Hitomi didn't think he actually cared about it at the moment. All Van seemed to care about was Merle.

_ Oh my God. Is he in love with her? Is that even possible? I mean she's a CAT! Can a man be in love with a cat?!? Prabably here…_ Hitomi's mind muttered bitterly. Wait a minute…She hadn't thought about home, Amano or Allen for over 2 hours…_Geez that's some kind of record for me.. _she thought. She couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking about when her mind wandered. Her eyes drifted to Van…_Could I possibly have been thinking about…? Nah…_

***

Hitomi had sweet dreams when she slept. She didn't know why and she couldn't remember what they were about. All she knew was that her dreams were wonderful. She sighed, fluttered her eyelids and shifted once again into a deep sleep.

Van looked down at Hitomi, who had fallen asleep on his shoulder and smiled. They must have walked for miles, in the middle of the night, and not once did she complain. They barely spoke. The next thing Van knew, he looked over his shoulder and saw Hitomi falling. He raced to her side and caught her when she fell, but she was asleep by the time he got to her. Van picked her up and walked to the base of a tree, he set her down and sat next to her. Hitomi flopped over in her sleep and rested her head on his shoulder and they had been that was ever since.

****

Hitomi's eyes fluttered, trying to come into focus. On instinct she jerked backward. She stared at Van next to her. _He's so cute when he's sleeping! _She thought. _Wait…Van…cute? Those two words shouldn't be in the same sentence…_she looked at him again. There was just no other word to describe the scene. 

Van opened his eyes and looked at Hitomi. "So you're awake huh?" he said softly. 

"You shouldn't have stopped for my sake…We should have kept going…Merle needs us.." Hitomi said hurriedly trying to stand up, but her legs were doing everything in their power to work against her.

Van laughed "I figured we wouldn't do Merle much good if we found her only to fall over asleep…" he stood up and chuckled at Hitomi again. 

"Stop laughing!" Hitomi exploded, now wrestling the tree in an attempt to get herself upright. "My legs fell asleep! If you were a gentleman you MIGHT help me here!" She lost her balance and plopped to the ground. She laughed slightly I guess I do look kinda stupid…."

Van extended his hand to her. "So you want me to be a gentleman huh? Forgive me Hitomi but I don't think you have that kind of faith in me."

Hitomi, who was now standing, blushed. "I never said anything like that Van…" 

Van turned around and started to walk again. "You didn't have to say anything…"

Hitomi sighed and looked over her shoulder to the rising sun. _Here we go again…_she thought, and once again began tofollowVan.

****

The daylight behind them made the dew drops shine on the green leaves of the trees. The wet grass soaked Hitomi's socks as they walked, saying nothing. Hitomi ducked under wet tree branch after wet tree branch until they came to a small clearing. 

Van walked into the center of the clearing and stopped . Hitomitook out her pendant and watched as the pink stone spun in circles."That's funny…according to the pendant…Merle is here…"

"Hitomi…….Look up."

Hitomi looked up toward the blue sky as she walked intothe clearing. "Oh… My…gosh…." were the words that escaped her mouth as she saw the huge flying fortress above them. The huge flying black rock just sat there in the sky, as if it were waiting for them. Which it prabably was. The black rock was filled with rows and rows of little yellow dots, which Hitomi assumed were windows to rooms that had lights in them.

"Well…I should get going.." Van said.

"Go? Up there how?" She looked at Van, who was sending her a 'you idiot' kind of look. Hitomi battled the huge lump of saliva in her throat. "Oh…You mean _fly _up there. Van you know I think your wings are pretty but you don't seem to be very good at _using_ them…You kind of crash…a lot…" she added.

Van looked mad. Very mad. "I don't see why it would matter to you. You're staying here. And I've only crashed once," he said defiantly "as far as you know anyway" he added under his breath. "And another thing there aren't any trees on the fortress…I'll be fine."

Hitomi made a face. "What do you mean I'm not going?!? Like Hell I'm not!" She yelled walking up wrapping her arms around him.

Van just stood there stunned. "Well? What are you waiting for?" Hitomi asked with her eyes closed. "Take off already!"

"Um… Hitomi? Could you loosen your grip on me? I can't breathe…"

****

A/N poor Merle…I feel kinda sorry for her…with a rescueparty likethat! LOL Anyway hope you're enjoying the story! Am I writingthe charas ok? Geez my pc's still doing that word run together thingsosorry 'bout that... Thanks to [ Meliae][1] for helping this baka author figure out how to spell 'saluted' ....it's been one of those weeks where I just do stupid things...LOL **  
PleaseReview!**

   [1]: http://www.members.fanfiction.net:88/index.fic?action=Directory-AuthorProfile&UserID=37513



	4. Part 4

Destroyers of Atlantis part 4 by Stargurl117

Destroyers of Atlantis  
Part 4

by Stargurl117

The wind whipped at Van's face and he loved it. He forgot to force himself to hate flying, like he'd done all his life, while trying to convince himself he was perfectly human. It was like he was born to do this. 

Hitomi on the other hand, couldn't relax. The tree incident was burned into her mind. That fall hurt so much, and it was prabably less than 10 feet. Even though she refused to open her eyes she guessed they had to be at least 100 feet up before they would reach the fortress. _Well a fall like that prabably wouldn't hurt much..._her mind tried to reassure her _because you&rsquod be dead on impact..._it added. "Van are we there yet?" Hitomi sobbed miserably as the wind stung her face.

Van had forgotten all about the fortress, the whole reason they were even up there. Oddly enough it was no where in sight. _That can't be right,_ Van thought looking around. Was it possible Zaibach had the technology to turn their fortresses invisible? No, they couldn't hide a fortress as big as this one and besides Zaibach wanted them to find it. Frustrated, Van looked as the ground. _What's that little black dot down there?_ He thought. He looked at the dot harder. _You idiot! You completely missed the damn fortress! Some hero you are! _He screamed at himself. "Uhh..Yeah we're almost there...Hitomi?"

"Yes?" she sobbed again.

"Hold on tight," Van said as he folded in his wings.

Hitomi felt a rush of wind as they went straight down, as if they were on an evil possessed elevator from Hell. Hitomi was too stunned to scream as her whole body tingled and was beaten by the wind. 

Van made one of his better landings on the steel floor of the Vione. He brought in his long wings, and let his arms drop from the hold they had around Hitomi's waist. She was still clinging to him desperately, her short fingernails were digging through his ripped shirt and into the skin of his back. She sobbed softly as she buried her face into Van's shoulder. 

When Van realized she was crying he slowly tried to hug her, but before his arms made it around her slender body she sank to the floor of the Vione. The cold hard metal wasn't nearly as comforting as being next to Van, but she didn&rsquot want comfort. She wanted to break down and cry. She hadn't done that for so long because she was trying to be strong. She just couldn't hold it in any longer. "I want to go home!" Hitomi cried, her voice echoed in the empty Vione full of Guymelefs. 

"Hey Hitomi...I know...." Van said soothingly, but Hitomi didn&rsquot want to be soothed.

"No you don't know!" She yelled even louder this time. "You don't know what it's like to have your life almost going your way for once and then to be ripped from your world into to this war-stricken, God-awful place! I want to see my mom! Yukari! Amano! I even want to see my dad and little brother after this place!" Her sobs were completely out of control by now, and her shallow attempts for air were making it hard to make much sense. "I want to-" she gasped for air. "I want to-" She attempted again. "I want to ride an airplane DAMN IT!" she finally finished her sob.

"A what?"

"It's like a leviship, except it's not made from stupid flying rocks!" Hitomi sobbed again.

"Leviships are perfectly practical!" Van stated, starting to get defensive. Then he shook the urge from his head. _Now is not the time! _He told himself. He kneeled down and grabbed Hitomi by the shoulders. "Hitomi! Now is not the time! We have to find Merle and Escaflowne THEN you can cry all you want, ok?" Hitomi looked like she was about to have another outburst. "Hitomi! If they hear us, they will find us, then they'll kill us so you need to be quiet!" Van hissed.

Hitomi&rsquos lip quivered, her olive eyes filled with shimmering tears. She nodded slightly, Van relaxed a little and smiled slightly as he took his hands off Hitomi&rsquos shoulders. 

"WHY DID YOU HAFTA MISS THE DAMN FORTRESS!!?!" She moaned, "If you hadn't missed the fortress we wouldn't have had to do that horrible drop, and I wouldn't have started crying!"

_ Are all people from the Mystic Moon this impossible?!? First she wants to come then she gets upset over the flight, which she knew was inevitable, then when I try to comfort her she insults me?!? Van screamed in his head._

"And what does it matter if they kill us now or later I'll die here just the same?!?" Hitomi continued.

"BECAUSE I'M AN IDIOT!!!!" Van yelled even louder than Hitomi.

Hitomi sniffled. "huh?" 

Van got control of his temper and lowered his voice, "That's why I missed the damn fortress," he finished.

Hitomi smiled and whipped the tears from her eyes. She breathed in deeply to try and calm herself. "YES YOU ARE!! She yelled tears beginning to run down her cheeks once more.

Van was mad, it was written on his face. He stood up and unsheathed his sword.

Hitomi watched in shock as daylight reflected off the shinny metal. _No, he wouldn't...Would he? I wouldn't annoy him that much...Certainly after spending a lifetime with Merle..._

Van threw the sword behind him, letting it skid across the floor, making a horrible noise as it did so. He kneeled to Hitomi's eye level. He looked her straight in the eye. "Hitomi..." In one fluid movement he took her chin in his hand and kissed her. "Stay here." He stood up, turned to pick up the sward and left.

Hitomi heard the heavy metal door of the Vione open and shut. Dazed, and staring at nothing in paticular "Yeah....ok.. sure.." she said quietly in a dazed tone to match her expression.

*****

Van sped down the hallway. _Escaflowne wasn't in the Vione. I have to find both Escaflowne and Merle and get out of here before they find Hitomi. _Van's mind raced. He ran down the spiral staircase, that he hoped would lead him to the dungeon. 

Finally he reached bottom floor. He raced down the long hallway. One of the guards saw him and unsheathed his sword. "Stop where you are!" he warned. 

Van didn't have time for this he got out his sword and ran right past the solder, slicing him in half as he did. He used the back of his hand to wipe off the blood from his face as the continued to run down the hall. 

Van ran past cell door after cell door, glancing into each one. "Merle! Merle!" he yelled, but there was no answer. "Damn!" Now he had to go look for her. He sighed, turned around and ran back down the hall. He stopped when he got to the bottom of the staircase. _I REALLY don't want to do this again,_ he thought looking the immense staircase up and down. "Oh well, for Merle," He told himself as he started to run up the stairs.

****

Hitomi wasn't aware of the fact that she'd fallen asleep in the Vione or the fact that she was dreaming. All she knew was she was standing in a white space with no actual floor or sky, just a space of white light. All she could feel was her entire body tingle, just like when Van kissed her. "Hello?" Hitomi asked. All she heard was the echo of her own voice. She walked around the space timidly. Suddenly a cruel disturbed chuckle echoed throughout the room. It wasn't Dilladau's laugh this was someone different. "Hello?" Hitomi tried again. The voice got louder as it continued to laugh. Hitomi had to cover ears, it was as if someone was someone was trying to suffocate her with sound.

Suddenly, whatever you would call what Hitomi was standing on, turned into the glass of a mirror. Hitomi found herself staring at her own face.

The space started to rumble then the glass broke, letting Hitomi see a million different pairs of her own green eyes staring up at her. The glass exploded, the shards sliced Hitomi's body as she fell backwards into a black abyss. Even though Hitomi screamed in shock, she knew Van would catch her. He always caught her when she fell, but what was taking him so long?...

**** 

Merle was tired of sobbing. Her eyes burned from so many tears and her throat ached. She walked to the door and tied to open it. It was unlocked! And although it was heavy, Merle managed to move it enough so she could squeeze through. Well she squeezed through half way, then got stuck. 

***

Van was lost. _Geez...somehow I managed to find the bedchambers! _He thought as he continued down the hallway.His eyes then came across half of a familiar body poking out though a partially open door. "Merle?" 

Merle's ears perked up as she stopped struggling. "Van-sama!" she cheered. "I'm stuck!"

Van shrugged and went to help Merle in the doorway. He began to push on the huge door. "What did make this from.... ROCK?!?" he muttered in frustration. 

"Van-sama, I don't think you're strong enough!"

"Merle...Push on three...One...two....three!" They both managed to push the door enough for Merle to break free from its hold.

She hugged Van and licked his cheek. "Van-sama! Oh Van-sama! I knew you'd come for me I just knew it!" She ran back into the room and grabbed the silver platter of food. "We don't have to eat bugs tonight!" she added showing him the food. 

Van smiled, "Merle do you know where Escaflowne is?" Merle shook her head. "It's ok we'll just have to go find it, C'mon." 

They found Escaflowne sitting in the spare Guymelef storage room. What they couldn&rsquot find were the stairs that would take them to the lower level of the room. 

"There it is Van-sama!" Merle yelled jumping up and down pointing.

"Yeah but how do we get down there?"

"I know! I know!" Merle exclaimed as she took the platter under one arm and jumped over the railing, grabbed onto a hanging rope and climbed down to the level with Escaflowne. "See Van-sama? It's easy!"

"..If you're a cat...." Van muttered. Van's eyes saw a streak of silver glimmer as a sword gracefully come out from the shadows and pressed its point against Merle's back.

Merle froze with fear as she felt the cold metal poke through her marigold dress. She didn't dare move, even though she wanted to scratch whoever was breathing down her neck. "Here kitty, kitty, kitty..." they breathed in her ear in a seriously disturbed voice. 

Van had no choice but to jump over the railing and hope he landed on his feet. Luckily he did, his sword was out even before his feet touched the metal floor. "Dilandau!" He yelled running toward him. "Leave her out of this! Your fight is with me!"

Dilandau kicked Merle out of his way and corrected his stance, getting ready to fight. 

Van ran toward Dilandau placing his sword in both of his gloved hands. He paused for a moment in shock, as he saw his reflection in Dilandau's blood red eyes that were glazed over with the purest of hatred. _How can someone hate so much? _Van thought, as he heard the metal of the swords clang. Last time he fought Dilandau he got lucky. He didn't want to rely on luck again, so he could only ask himself one question: _Am I good enough?  
****  
_

Leaving lots of sweet reveiws makes me work faster, so far you guys are amazing me, I had no idea this would become so popular thank you all I say this with all my heart. Happy Easter! ~ Stargurl

ps I know some of you aren't enjoying the love/hate thing Hitomi and Van have going, but don't worry that will change soon! :p  
  
_  
_


	5. Part 5

Destroyers of Atlantis   
Part 5   
By Stargurl117

Would it be skill that saved his life this time? Or would it be luck again? Or would he die here and sink to the cold hard metal floor of the storage room in a pool of his own blood while Escaflowne towered over him? Would he ever see Hitomi's beautiful green eyes after this fight? Or feel Merle's suffocating grip around his neck and her sandpaper tongue as she licked his face? All these thoughts seem to race through Van's mind 

Merle sat in horror as she watched Van and Dilandau fight blade to blade. Their swords reflected the dim light in the room and seemed to dance as if no human hand was controlling them at all. Merle ignored all the hateful things Dilandau said to Van, because the words seemed to blur as they reached her ears. All she could do was watch and prayed._ No more... Please... No more fighting...No more hate...it's destroyed enough...Please Kami-sama...No more..._

*** 

Hitomi continued to fall into the black abyss of her dream. At first when Van didn't catch her, she got angry and impatient. Now she was scared terrified that this is where it would end, that she would reach the bottom of this endless darkness and die. A whirlwind of white and black feathers rained down on her. "Van?!? Van?!?" she yelled, but there was no answer. Tears made her eyes sting and blurred her vision. Then she hit the bottom of the blackness and her whole body stung and burned she hit a bed of a thousand knives. They dug into her skin as her body sank into them and they feathers continued to rain down on her. 

Hitomi awoke covered in sweat. That dream felt so real... The scariest part was that her dreams were never just dreams anymore they always came true. _Why am I always told to wait in the most obvious of places when something bad is about to happen?_ Hitomi couldn't help but wonder. 

*** 

Out of the corner of his eye Van saw Merle cowering in fear on the floor as he fought Dilandau. _I can't die here, Merle and Hitomi need me, and we need to get out of here now before anything else happens,_ he added glancing at the look of worry in Merle's eyes. 

While the cat girl had Van's attention, his left side was highly vulnerable, Dilandau yelled a battle cry that echoed throughout the empty room as he lunged, trying to slice Van in half. He came at Van from a bad angle with horrible timing, thanks to a sudden outburst of emotion, taking only a small piece of flesh from Van's arm. 

Van flinched in pain, he fought the pain and raised his sword and slammed the handle on the back of Dilandau's head, knocking him out cold. Van gripped his bleeding arm. _I could kill him right now_ he thought. 

"No! Van-sama! Don't! Not now!" Merle said, reading his mind. She ran to his side and hugged him. 

Van gave Dilandau a look of disgust and staggered toward Escaflowne, Merle hopped up on Escaflowne's shoulder, her usual spot. Van got in Escaflowne and took of running toward what he thought was the Vione. 

***** 

"Where IS he?" Hitomi muttered. "Geez that idiot sure is taking his sweet time meanwhile I'm stuck here!" 

BAM! Escaflowne burst through the metal Vione door. Literally. Van sure knew how to make an entrance. Escaflowne's huge hand scooped up Hitomi and jumped out of the fortress. 

"Oh Crap not again!" Hitomi yelled, but she didn't scream because she knew Van would turn Escaflowne into a dragon and fly. Any second now....but he didn't. 

"Van-sama! Are you crazy?!?!?" Merle shrieked "You've been hanging around HER to long!" 

"They're expecting us to fly Merle! And now we'll have the trees to cover us!" 

BOOM! Escaflowne hit the ground. Merle tried to dig her claws into Escaflowne, but failed and flew off its shoulder and into the grass. 

"Sorry Merle!" Van yelled as Merle tried to shake her dizziness of from the landing. He scooped Merle up and ran under the canopy of large green trees. **** 

Folken looked out the window of the flying fortress and saw Escaflowne run under the trees in the distance. He turned and took one final distance where his brother fled. _He's starting to know his limits, and he's getting stronger every time I see him. Maybe he won't get himself killed out there after all. Perhaps he doesn't need me looking out for him,_ he mused as he walked through the long curving halls of the fortress. 

He opened the storage room and eyed the unconscious Dilandau lying on the floor. Dilandau stirred suddenly and snapped himself upright. 

He eyed Folken coldly. "Where is he?" he growled. 

"He got away, something that wouldn't have happened if you hadn't gotten careless." 

Dilandau massaged his sore neck. "Which way did they go? He snapped. 

"Southwest." 

"All right..." Dilandau took of running toward the door but stopped to clutch his head in pain. "You should rest you had a serious blow to the head." Dilandau flashed Folken a look of hatred. "You don't think I'm capable of it do you? You don't think I can kill him." 

"Not if you kill yourself first." Dilandau watched Folken's cape trail behind him as he left the room, leaving Dilandau alone in the dark silence. That was fine with him. He liked the dark he liked being alone. It was the quiet that bothered him. 

**** 

The sun touched the horizon as the bright golden sky of daylight faded to the dark purple of dusk. Van, Hitomi and Merle sat around the campfire in silence, picking at their bits of foraged food. 

"I'm going to sleep! Merle finally exclaimed as she curled up in a ball near the fire. 

"Guess it's best if we all get some sleep," Van muttered. 

"I don't want to sleep...." Hitomi spat. "But I don't want to stay awake either." 

Van stood up and looked down at Hitomi as anger flashed in his eyes. "What is your problem Hitomi? I know you're homesick, and you don't wanna be here, but you know what neither do I!" 

Hitomi stood up and glared at him straight in the eye. If he wanted to fight, she'd fight, after all it did keep her from sleeping which kept her away from her visions and it kept her from truly thinking about her problems. "You're not worlds away from your home! You don't know how I feel!" 

"At least you're home still exists! At least you weren't born into a royal family, who no longer exists, and thrust on a throne you don't want. Now I'm expected to save the world with a legendary Guymelef that I can't handle, and THEN rebuild my home and reunite a nation!" 

Merle grabbed her ears and tried to block out the sound of their bickering. "Oh Yeah well I didn't ask to be stuck WITH YOU!" Hitomi retorted. 

"STOP IT BOTH OF YOU!!!!" Merle cried, racing toward them, where she slapped Hitomi across the face with the back of her hand. 

"MERLE!!!" Van exclaimed. Then she slapped him too, so hard it left a big red mark of his pale face. 

"HASN'T IT OCCURRED TO YOU THAT FIGHTING IS STUPID?!??! So quit acting like babies and face your problems instead of being at each others' throats all the time! We've all got problems OK? So get over it!" She turned away from them and ran into the dark forest. 

"Merle..." Van murmured as he began to go after her. 

Hitomi grabbed his arm "Don't....I think she needs time alone..." He flinched as if he hated the idea, but then Hitomi realized he was flinching from pain as she drew her hand back, covered in blood. "Van... you're hurt..." 

"It's not that bad, the bleeding stopped a while ago." 

"You KNEW? And you didn't tell me?" 

"There wasn't a reason to make you worry." He replied looking away from her eyes. 

"When did this happen...?" 

"This morning..." he still avoided her gaze. 

_This morning...? Was I really so lost in my problems that I didn't notice a piece of his arm was missing...? Oh God I must be a horrible person...No wonder he doesn't like me..._ she ran to her duffel bag next to the fire and got out her gym shirt. "Sit." She commanded. Van looked at her for a moment and the obeyed. She sat on her knees next to him and tore her shirt. 

"What are you doing?!??" Van gasped. 

"Making bandages stupid. We're going to need them as often as you get injured. Now hold still." She said as she wrapped part of her shirt around Van's arm. "Damn it Van I said hold still! I'm not gonna bite you! You really are a baby!" She blushed slightly, "I'm sorry...Merle's right we should stop fighting, there's plenty of fighting going on as it is." She tightened the bandage and Van winced. She put out her hand. "Truce?" 

Van looked at her hand hesitantly then grasped lightly. "Truce." He agreed. 

Hitomi flopped back into the grass. "I still can't believe I got bitch-slapped by a cat," she chuckled. 

"Got what slapped?" 

She laughed again. "Never mind." 

"Anyway I think I know what you mean...It sometimes scares me how smart she is." 

Hitomi sighed. "It must be why you love her so much..." 

"Yeah I guess...Wait...You don't think I love LOVE her do you?" Hitomi stayed silent and Van turned a horrible shade of red. "You honestly THINK that?!!" 

Hitomi started to turn red, "Well not anymore...." There was a long silence, all that was heard was the wind running through the grass and crickets singing their nighttime song in the distance. "....I'm sorry Van, you're right I'm not the only one with problems...and thank you for trying to be understanding." 

"Hitomi....I'll send you home...I promise you that-" 

"I know you do, but don't worry about it..." 

_"And what does it matter if they kill us now or later I'll die here just the same?"_ Van quoted so softly that it took Hitomi a minute to figure out what he had said. 

"Oh my God...Did I actually say that? Oh geez I didn't mean it Van I was hysterical." 

"Forget it, let's just get some sleep." 

Hitomi didn't think Van would 'forget it' but she let it go and curled up to go to sleep. The same dream haunted her in her sleep. The sequence was growing redundant. White space. The laugh. The ground turning into a mirror and cracking. The explosion of the ground. Falling downwards into the black nothingness while feathers rained down on her. And then finally landing on the bed of knives. Again and again never ending until she finally woke up in a sweat. Hitomi sat up and felt her forehead, it felt so real she thought as she flopped back down on the ground and tried to forget it. She gave up and walked off. 

Hitomi leaned up against a tree and tried to make since of her dream. "Why do I have to have visions?" she whined. 

"Are you OK Hitomi?" A voice loomed in the dark. 

Hitomi jerked at the noise. "Oh...Van you scared me..." 

"Are you OK? You don't look so good." 

Hitomi shook her head. "It's nothing forget it." 

"You don't have to lie to me Hitomi I saw that look on your face." Van had a troubled look on his face. 

"Hey Van you don't look so good either...." 

"I've just been thinking a lot that's all." Van spat. The silence that followed ate at Hitomi's stomach, making her nauseous. Van looked up at Hitomi with his brown eyes, for a moment Hitomi's stomach settled down and then out of nowhere "Hitomi you prabably have the power to send yourself home so why don't you do it? There's nothing holding you here, so go..." 

"-But Van...-" 

"I mean it! Look Hitomi GO HOME!" 

"You don't want me here?" Hitomi asked like a timid little girl. 

Van looked away from her "No Hitomi I don't..." 

Hitomi felt her world shatter like the mirror in her dream. It broke into a million pieces and ripped at her heart. She felt burning tears beginning to build up in her eyes. She saw blue-white light wrap itself around her and all its warmth. Hitomi stared at her glowing pendant with wide eyes. "VAN!" She cried. 

He turned to face her then, faint traces of tears in his eyes, "it's better this way..." he said. 

She stared upward to the purple sky full of diamond stars and a strange blue moon that caught her interest. _Why fight it? He's right there's nothing holding me here..._ She let the blue-white light gently lift her off the grass and into the sky. 

***** 

**A/N** Yay another part! Almost over can you believe it? Thanks for reading Please Reveiw! 

**Kami-sama**God in Japanese....I think the Japanese Merle is cuter so I used "Kami-sama" instead of God. (Though English Merle does a good job...) 


	6. Part 6 (Ending)

Destroyers of Atlantis   
Part 6   
By Stargurl117

Hitomi's head was throbbing in horrible pain. "Excuse me miss are you all right? It looks like you had a horrible fall..." A voice asked her. Hitomi opened her eyes, but quickly shielded them from the bright sun in her face. She looked at the little old man towering over her. 

"I'm fine thanks," she said as she picked herself up of the hot concrete. 

"That's good," the old man smiled showing off all the wrinkles in his face. He took Hitomi's arm and helped her steady herself. "I was worried because you fell backwards on cement....and it was so strange it was as if you came from the sky.....Like an angel." 

Hitomi blushed as she brushed herself off "Oh I'm no angel...."she told him bashfully. 

He set his hand on her shoulder. "Don't sell yourself short like that," He smiled at her again. "Well I'm glad you're all right." 

"Oh... thank you..." her voice drifted off into the wind as she watched the man walk away. She looked around and observed her location. This was the way she walked to and from school. Her home wasn't too far from here! 

She started walking past familiar homes and objects, feeling more excited and happy to be home. The home that she knew so well. She had forgotten how much she missed it until she was walking down the path that would lead her home. 

She rounded the corner and ran down her street. She could have beaten the entire track team and ran laps around them she went so fast. Well it wouldn't have been running exactly because she didn't run she flew. 

She skidded around the corner up the stairs and past the stone with the family name which clearly read "Kanzaki," jumped over the little rod iron gate and past her mother's shrubbery, under the trellis with the little pink flowers in bloom and turned sharply to face the front door. 

Hitomi fought back the tears in his eyes. As happy as she was, there was something missing...She couldn't place it. Some feeling that she was expecting. It was like she was physically happy, but her heart just wasn't in it. She felt under the doormat for her key. She clutched the key so hard it made her fingers hurt as she brought it to the door. 

The sheer smell of her home hitting her nose made her dizzy. It was like a drug addiction, she couldn't stop inhaling the smell of her house as she made her way through it. "Mom?" No answer, as much as she wanted to see her family it was all right because she needed to make up a cover story for where she had been all this time. 

*** 

Van looked at the empty space where Hitomi previously stood. He wiped his eyes quickly and saw something sparkle in the grass. He bent down to pick it up, he laced the gold chain through his fingers. _The latch on Hitomi's necklace broke..._ Van thought as he ran his fingers along the smooth pink stone. 

"VAN-SAMA! VAN-SAMA!" Merle cried as she galloped to Van's side. She panted when she reached him, "I saw the light and I thought you had left!" She scanned her surroundings quickly. "Where's Hitomi?" The look on Van's face said it all. "Oh, Van-sama, I'm sorry....What's that?" 

Van held out his hand letting Hitomi's necklace dance in the faint breeze. "The latch broke...." 

Merle scooped up the pedant and observed it closely. "It's not the latch... It's still latched, one of rings in the chain came undone though, See if you can find it." 

As if he were commanded, Van got down on his hands and knees and searched for the tiny gold ring. "So you didn't tell her did you?" Merle asked eyeing the necklace she sat in her lap. 

"Tell her what?" Van asked bluntly. 

"That you love her." Merle replied nonchalantly. 

"WHAT?!?" 

"Van-sama, I haven't that happy look in your eye since before your parents died. You love her." 

Van faced her and sat on the grass. He stared at her for a moment, "No Merle I didn't... I told her to leave." 

"You did WHAT?!? ...Why?" 

"I'm not quite sure either..." 

"She loves you back I know it-" 

"-I wasn't worried about that....but...if she told me she loved me then left....Then what Merle? Or worse what if she died here? It'd be all my fault. It's better this way" Van sighed, not believing that he actually told Merle everything, he looked at his side and saw something twinkle in the moonlight. He picked it up gently and tossed it to Merle. 

Merle smiled as best she could, "Hey you found it..." she bent the misshapen ring back into shape and laced it through the two broken ends of the necklace and clasped it shut. She crawled till her face was inches away from Van. She threw the necklace over his head and pulled it till it was around his neck. "Van-sama...you're afraid to loose anything else...Don't worry I'll help you get some of it back." She smiled. 

"Merle, what do you mean?" 

"I saw Folken on the fortress, he's not bad Van I saw it in his eyes...I'll get him back for you." 

"Merle... Folken's never going to change." 

"Van-sama, let me do this for you....Then we can wait for Hitomi to come back." 

"What makes you so sure she'll be back?" 

"Because I know these things..." She answered in a know-it-all tone. 

**** 

_ I never told him how I felt... No Hitomi now isn't the tine for that! Cover story...cover story...think Hitomi. Think. Kidnapped? That might work. Escaped from being kidnapped. That'll work! But what if Yukari or Amano told them about the pillar of light thing? Why am I so tired lately...? I've been sleeping so much... I never told him how I felt...._

The white space again. Hitomi dreaded this place now, she knew what was going to happen. Of course she wasn't aware that it was only her dream world. There she was, standing in the white space. That laugh, that cruel mocking laugh echoed in Hitomi's ears as the floor turned into a mirror, making Hitomi stare at her own face. "What a pathetic reflection," The source of the laugh mocked her, making the glass crack. Hitomi could tell now that it was the voice of a young woman. 

Hitomi felt the ground beneath her start to rumble louder and louder till her ears screamed in pain. Then the glass broke, sending shards of glass to rip at her skin and clothing. Hitomi fell back into black nothingness, knowing that the end was near. That she'd soon reach the bottom of this black pit, only to land on knives and die. She closed her eyes and waited for the end. 

"And you're just going to let it happen aren't you?" The woman's voice asked. "Just reach the bottom to die....That's why I'm ashamed of you...you never fight...You rarely say what you truly mean and now it's too late to tell him how you feel...Because now you're stuck on Earth, Quit pretending you're happy Hitomi....It's really sickening...." 

Hitomi hated that voice...because it was right. _No it's not too late...I'll show you...I'll prove you wrong... I refuse to die here!_ She screamed in her mind. Her eyes snapped open as she flipped her self over. There was an explosion of white feathers as she came face to face with the knives she feared so much. She screamed in terror knowing she would land face first on the knives she feared so much. The whole world stopped as she hovered above the knives. "Van?!?" She yelled happily looking behind her. He hadn't saved her....She had saved herself...with her own wings... 

She shot up out of the black abyss, above the white space that had held her captive for too long and into the night sky. The diamond sky above the clouds with Earth and the moon hanging in the distance. The higher she went the more she saw. Then woven in with one of the far away clouds she saw a white pair of wings similar to her own. She flew towards them. It was Van, waiting for her. She sat next to him on the cloud. 

"What took you so long...? I've been waiting..." He asked as he looked toward her. 

"I couldn't fly...-" 

Van cut her off as her put his finger to her lips and then kissed her. 

"Hitomi...to me you soar...and you always will....when you let yourself." 

"Van....I love you." 

"I know....You don't honestly think I'm that dense do you?" 

"No!...I just needed too tell you that's all." 

*** 

_She was me, that woman's voice was mine._ Hitomi sat out on the cold cement steps behind her house. She inhaled the smell of the summer grass and clutched the picture of her family in her hand. One of the few where they were all smiling. She heard the front door slam shut and footsteps along the tiled entry hall floor. They'd find the note she left soon. Saying that she loved them and that she went to find her love. It would be better if she never saw them, seen how they'd changed without her. She got up and walked to the center of her backyard, took one last glance back at her house as the bright white light that surrounded her blinded her._ To where I belong..._She commanded her wings. And with her wings made of her will she rose up into the dusk sky and vanished. 

Leaving behind a single white feather. 

***** **Author's notes:** Well boys and girls, it's over. Now I get to catch up on _reading_ fics as opposed to writting. I will be working on another V+H fic(with more of the other charas! Yes Dilly-sama too, I swear Planeswalker Meliae are bound and determanded to make me a Dilly fan girl w/ their wonderful fics!) after I see the whole series. (In the US they canceled the show so I hafta wait for the DVD relese) Thanks for reading and your support. I realize this isn't my best work plot wise but my writting style improved greatly while writting it. I'm amazed how much it changed from the idea in my head! Maybe someday I'll write what I originally intended. Thanks again,   
*~*Stargurl*~*


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